Ethics Policy
The ethical principles governing how OtakuOshi operates: protecting people, content authenticity, transparency in moderation, our position on artificial intelligence, prohibited content, and our commitments to the community of creators and fans.
Purpose of this policy
The OtakuOshi ethics policy sets out the principles and limits that govern the conduct of the platform, of the creators who publish on it, and of the fans who consume its content. It is not a decorative document: it is a binding commitment that applies to every moderation decision, every creator onboarding, and every piece of content published.
OtakuOshi operates in a space where creative freedom, artistic expression, all-ages content, and age-verified adult content coexist. That diversity demands a clear ethical framework that protects people, ensures content authenticity, and maintains the community’s trust. This policy is that framework.
This document is supplemented by the terms of service, the publishing principles, the privacy policy, the USC 2257 regulation, and the DMCA policy. In the event of a conflict between documents, the interpretation most protective of the affected persons prevails.
Core principles
These six principles guide every ethical decision on the platform.
Protecting people
The safety of people — especially minors, victims of abuse, and people whose likeness is used without consent — is OtakuOshi’s absolute priority. No artistic, commercial, or community consideration outweighs the protection of people. This principle is inviolable and admits no exceptions.
Content authenticity
All content published on OtakuOshi must be authentic: created by real people, with truthful attribution, and without deception as to its origin, authorship, or method of creation. The platform exists for the work of human creators. Authenticity is what sets OtakuOshi apart from an anonymous repository.
Explicit consent
Every person who appears in content published on OtakuOshi — photographs, videos, audio, illustrations based on real people — must have given explicit, informed, and verifiable consent to the creation, publication, and commercialization of that content. No consent, no publication.
Transparency in moderation
Moderation decisions are based on public criteria documented in this policy and in the publishing principles. When content is removed or an account is suspended, the creator is informed of the specific reason and the available remedy. There is no arbitrary or opaque moderation.
Creative freedom with responsibility
OtakuOshi upholds freedom of artistic expression within legal and ethical limits. Creators may explore themes, styles, narratives, and genres without unnecessary censorship, provided they classify their content correctly and respect the limits of this policy. Creative freedom comes with responsibility for what is published.
Respect and non-discrimination
OtakuOshi does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, hate, intimidation, or violence against any person or group on the basis of origin, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, or any other status. The community is stronger when everyone feels welcome.
Protection of minors
The protection of minors is OtakuOshi’s strictest ethical principle. It applies without exception, without nuance, and without negotiation.
Absolute prohibition: the creation, publication, distribution, storage, or promotion of any content that sexualizes minors is strictly prohibited. This prohibition applies to real people and to fictional characters who appear to be minors, regardless of the fictional age stated by the author. It covers photography, illustration, manga, animation, audio, text, and any other format.
Age verification: to access content classified as R-18, fans must complete an age verification process. To publish R-18 content, creators must complete identity verification in accordance with the USC 2257 regulation. Every person who appears in adult content must be of legal age and verified.
Zero tolerance: any content that violates this policy is removed immediately and the account is permanently suspended. OtakuOshi cooperates with the competent authorities and with organizations such as NCMEC when it detects or receives reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Consent and likeness rights
Every identifiable person who appears in content published on OtakuOshi must have given explicit consent to the creation, publication, and commercialization of that content. This applies to:
Photography and video: every person who appears in photo sets, videos, behind-the-scenes material, or any audiovisual content. If multiple people appear (group cosplay, collaborations), each of them must have consented. Audio: every person whose voice appears in audio, ASMR, roleplay, or narration content. Illustration based on real people: any illustration, caricature, or fan art depicting an identifiable real person requires that person’s consent for publication and commercialization.
Consent must be informed (the person knows where and how the content will be published), specific (it covers the particular use), revocable (the person may withdraw consent and the content is removed), and verifiable (the creator can demonstrate that consent was obtained). If in doubt, OtakuOshi may ask the creator for documentation of consent.
Publishing content featuring a person’s likeness without their consent is a serious violation that results in the immediate removal of the content and may result in permanent suspension of the account.
Prohibited content
In addition to the absolute prohibition on content that sexualizes minors, the following content is prohibited on OtakuOshi:
Non-consensual content: content depicting real people without their explicit consent, including photographs taken without permission, leaked intimate content (revenge porn), hidden recordings, and any material obtained or distributed without the consent of everyone who appears in it.
Deepfakes and identity manipulation: any content that uses artificial intelligence, facial or body manipulation software, or any other technique to create fake images, videos, or audio that simulate the appearance, voice, or performance of a real person without their explicit consent.
Real violence: content depicting real violence against people or animals, including assault, torture, mutilation, killings, or any documented act of cruelty. Fictional violence in manga, illustration, or animation is permitted if it is correctly classified and does not encourage imitation.
Hate speech: content whose purpose is to incite hatred, violence, or discrimination against people or groups on the basis of origin, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or any other status.
Fraud and deception: content designed to scam, deceive, or manipulate other users, including fraudulent investment schemes, impersonation, phishing, and misleading offers.
Illegal content: any content whose creation, distribution, or possession is illegal under the laws of the United States, the laws of the creator’s country, or the laws of the buyer’s country. In the event of a conflict between jurisdictions, the most restrictive law applies.
Artificial intelligence policy
OtakuOshi is a platform for human creators. This position is not ideological: it is an ethical and business decision based on the value of authorship, authenticity, and the protection of artists’ rights.
Prohibition on AI-generated content presented as one’s own creation: it is prohibited to publish on OtakuOshi content generated entirely or mostly by artificial intelligence (images, text, audio, video) without explicitly disclosing it. Presenting AI-generated content as original human work is a serious violation.
Use of AI as an auxiliary tool: if a creator uses AI tools as part of their workflow (for example, upscaling, noise reduction, automated color correction, writing assistance), they must disclose it in the product listing. The content must remain fundamentally the work of the human creator: AI can be a tool, but not the author.
Prohibition on deepfakes: the use of AI to generate, manipulate, or alter the image, voice, or appearance of real people without their explicit consent is strictly prohibited. This includes face swapping, voice cloning, body manipulation, and any equivalent technique.
Protection against AI training: it is prohibited to use content published on OtakuOshi to train artificial intelligence models, generative adversarial networks (GANs), diffusion models, or any machine learning system. The terms of service expressly prohibit scraping and bulk extraction of content for this purpose. OtakuOshi reserves the right to take technical and legal action against anyone who violates this prohibition.
Ethics of creation and publishing
Authorship and attribution: all published content must properly credit everyone involved in its creation. In collaborations (model + photographer, writer + artist, artist + editor), each participant is credited. Publishing someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism and is penalized by removal of the content and possible suspension of the account.
Derivative works (二次創作): OtakuOshi allows the publication of dōjinshi and fan art within the tradition of Japanese dōjin culture. Creators are responsible for complying with the applicable conditions under intellectual property law and the terms of service. Derivative works must be clearly identified as such to avoid confusion with official material.
Content classification: creators are responsible for correctly classifying their content according to the established levels: all ages (全年齢), R-15 (suggestive), and R-18 (explicit adult). Incorrect classification — especially under-classification of adult content — is a violation that may result in removal of the content, forced recategorization, or suspension of the account. The detailed criteria are set out in the publishing principles.
Accurate metadata: the information in product listings (format, resolution, number of photos/pages, language, content, license) must be accurate. Exaggerating, omitting, or falsifying metadata to induce a purchase constitutes deceptive advertising and is penalized as a violation.
Community ethics
For creators: respect fans, honor delivery commitments (especially for subscriptions and commissions), do not mislead about the content offered, do not use manipulative techniques to pressure purchases, and do not harass or discriminate against any user. A creator with subscribers has a duty of trust toward their community.
For fans: respect creators and their work, do not redistribute purchased content without permission, do not harass or send unsolicited sexual messages, do not try to obtain free content through pressure or manipulation, and do not post fake or defamatory reviews. Fans are entitled to a product that matches its description; creators are entitled to respectful treatment.
Harassment: OtakuOshi defines harassment as any repeated or serious conduct intended to intimidate, humiliate, threaten, or cause distress to another person. It includes persistent unwanted messages, threats, doxxing (publishing personal information), stalking, repeated insults, smear campaigns, and any conduct that a reasonable adult would consider intimidating or abusive. Harassment is punishable by temporary or permanent suspension.
Moderation and enforcement
Reactive moderation: OtakuOshi acts on content reported through the complaints page, the in-platform reporting system, or direct communications. Each report is reviewed individually by the moderation team.
Proactive moderation: OtakuOshi reserves the right to proactively review published content when there are indications of a violation, including behavior patterns, previous reports, or technical signals.
Enforcement process: violations are classified as minor (warning + correction), serious (content removal + formal warning), and very serious (temporary or permanent account suspension). Violations involving the protection of minors, non-consensual content, or deepfakes are always treated as very serious, with immediate suspension. In all cases, the creator is notified of the reason and has the right to appeal through the contact page.
Time frames: response times for reports and complaints are defined in the active response policy. Violations affecting people’s safety are handled as a priority (removal in less than 24 hours).
Cooperation with authorities: OtakuOshi cooperates with the competent authorities when it detects or receives reports of illegal content, especially child sexual abuse material, non-consensual content, and real threats against people.
Transparency and accountability
OtakuOshi is committed to transparency in enforcing this policy. Policies that affect users are published in an accessible manner and updated as needed. When a material change occurs, affected users are notified with reasonable advance notice.
If OtakuOshi makes a mistake in a moderation decision — unjustified removal of content, wrongful suspension, or incorrect application of a policy — the mistake is corrected, the content or account is restored, and the affected user is informed. Making a mistake is not the problem; failing to correct it is.
Users can contact the team with any questions about this policy through the contact page or at hello@otakuoshi.com. Formal complaints are handled through the complaints page within the time frames of the active response policy.
Frequently asked questions about the ethics policy
Answers to the most common questions about OtakuOshi’s ethical principles.
Not if you present it as human-made. OtakuOshi is a platform for human creators. If you use AI tools as an auxiliary part of your workflow (upscaling, color correction, noise reduction), you must disclose it in the product listing. Presenting AI-generated content as your own work is a serious violation.
Report the content through the complaints page, providing the URL and explaining that you did not give your consent. OtakuOshi removes non-consensual content as a priority (in less than 24 hours) and takes action against the offending account, which may include permanent suspension.
Yes, within the tradition of Japanese dōjin culture. Derivative works (二次創作) are permitted as long as they are clearly identified as fan art or dōjinshi (not as official material), the source series is credited, and the creator takes responsibility for complying with the applicable conditions under the terms of service.
The OtakuOshi moderation team evaluates each case individually based on the criteria documented in this policy and in the publishing principles. Decisions are communicated to the creator with the specific reason. If the creator disagrees, they may appeal through the contact page.
It depends on the severity of the violation. Temporary suspensions for minor or serious violations have a defined duration, after which the account is reactivated. Permanent suspensions for very serious violations (minors, non-consensual content, deepfakes) are not reversed. In all cases, you may appeal through the contact page.
No. OtakuOshi does not use content published by creators or user data to train artificial intelligence models. In addition, the platform prohibits third parties from scraping and extracting content for AI training purposes. This protection is set out in the terms of service.
Use the complaints page or the in-platform reporting system. Include screenshots, URLs, and any evidence documenting the conduct. Harassment cases are handled as a priority. If there is a real threat, also contact your local authorities.
It is reviewed at least once a year or whenever there are material changes in the law, in technology (for example, new generative AI capabilities), or in how the platform operates. Changes are communicated to users with reasonable advance notice and published on this page with the date of the last update.
Questions about the ethics policy?
If you need clarification on this policy, want to report a violation, or wish to appeal a moderation decision, we are here to help.